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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
Great book about one family's immigrant experience and their sense of always being stuck in the in-between, never fitting in fully in their adopted land and no longer feeling at home in their country of origin (the Dominican Republic). Alvarez is a great writer.
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
(3.5) i loved the way alvarez lays out the characters and the points of view but it could have ended stronger. the last three chapters all had symbols of commodity and it felt kinda truncated.
reflective
medium-paced
I vacillated between three stars and two stars, eventually giving it three because of the overall quality of the writing. The story was too disjointed for me. Although in the beginning, the sisters appeared to have four distinct personalities, after a while they seemed so similar that I began to lose track of their individual storylines. And while several of the chapters seemed to flow and connect, others seemed to have been haphazard. After I'd gotten through the first part of the book, it began to read more like a collection of short stories than a journey through the interwoven lives of the four sisters.
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Maybe because I've been over-familirized with the "coming to America" story, but this book dragged for me. I could see people really liking it but me personally found it so similar to other immigration stories but less gripping.
Probs more like a 3.5 but didn’t love — didn’t feel like I really got to know each of the girls throughout the story
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
A real classic of migrant literature!
An eloquent story of 4 daughters' immigrant experience/how different their life was in the Dominican Republic before having to flea. I wasn't paying enough attention at the beginning and got a little confused at the timeline. The story reminded me "of women and salt" but instead of the different generations of the family it was the different sisters.